ALT Celebrates Opera Week with The Poe Project 10/29-11/7

American Lyric Theater is proud to join nearly 100 other opera organizations nationwide to celebrate National Opera Week (October 29 - November 7), organized by OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, with support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

National Opera Week celebrates the vitality of opera in America today and brings the inventiveness and excitement of opera to a broader national audience. The strength and diversity of established opera companies, community opera ensembles and opera training programs across the United States will be shared through a variety of free and accessible activities for opera lovers and newcomers to the art form.

"National Opera Week is an opportunity to highlight the astounding diversity and creativity of opera activity across the United States today," stated Marc A. Scorca, president & CEO of OPERA America. "There is something for everyone during National Opera Week, providing both the seasoned attendee and newcomer a chance to learn about, experience and enjoy the art form in an informal setting."As part of National Opera Week, on Monday, November 1st, 2010 at 7:00 PM, American Lyric Theater will present a concert reading of THE POE PROJECT: three one-act operas inspired by the fiction of Edgar Allan Poe: BURIED ALIVE by Jeff Myers and Quincy Long; ...OF THE FLESH by Jay Anthony Gach and Royce Vavrek; and EMBEDDED by Patrick Soluri and Deborah Brevoort. The operas of this exciting new trilogy are not simply adaptations of Poe stories. Under the mentorship of Michael Korie, ALT asked these writers: What might Poe write if he were alive today? The chilling results will be performed in concert at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th Street) with a cast featuring soprano Caroline Worra, soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine, mezzo-soprano Sarah Heltzel, tenor Chad A. Johnson, baritone Christopher Burchett, and bass Kevin Burdette. Leesa Dahl serves as music coordinator and pianist for the concert, which will be conducted by Keith Chambers. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $16 on the day of the performance, and are available from www.symphonyspace.org or by calling (212) 864-5400.